CHIEF JUSTICE PETITIONED

Tue, 07 Nov 2017 10:58:30 +0000

…to probe erring ConCourt judges
By Sandra Machima
THE Chief Justice has been petitioned to establish a Commission of Inquiry to probe perceived erring Constitutional Court judges following President Edgar Lungu’s caution to judges not to bring chaos in the country.
3rd Liberation Movement leader Enock Tonga told the Daily Nation in an interview that President Edgar Lungu as Head of State had every right to counsel judges because he was the custodian of the welfare of Zambians.
He said he has officially written to the office of the Chief Justice so that a public inquiry to ascertain the conduct of the concerned judges.
“We have officially written to the Chief Justice because she is heading the Judiciary and we want those Judges to be probed and made known to the Zambian people, because we cannot keep quiet when things seem to be going in the wrong direction.
We have three important people in this country; the Head of State, the Chief Justice and the Speaker, and for the Head of State to have talked and cautioned about those erring judges, means it is not coming from nowhere but instead something somewhere is not right,” Mr Tonga said.
And according to the petition letter to the Chief Justice, Mr Tonga said, “In view of President Edgar Lungu’s timely warning to who he termed as (adventurous” Constitutional Court Judges allegedly scheming to bring about the breakdown of law and order in Zambia, and as the head of Judiciary we urge the Government through your office to consider expediting the due process of establishing a Commission of Inquiry to probe the perceived erring Constitutional Court Judges.”
As the matter is of grave concern, we sincerely hope that the Commission of Inquiry would be established as soon as possible so as to determine the best interest of the people of Zambia and general public as to whether or not some members on the Constitutional Court bench had fallen short of what is expected of them being public constitutional office bearers, and appropriate action to be taken thereafter,” the letter read in part.
And Mr Tonga said it was unjustifiable for the Judicial Complaints Commission to have tried to usurp power of the Concourt, when it did not have such powers.
Mr Tonga said it could not be arguable that there was a constitutional crisis in the country and therefore some judges should be retired in the national interest to save Zambia because the Concourt was the final court.
President Edgar Lungu has cautioned judges against professional misconduct and urged them to always carry out their duties for the benefit of Zambians.